POLICY PLATFORM BLUEPRINT
FOR
NATIVE HAWAIIANS and PACIFIC ISLANDERS
IN THE
UNITED STATES
Rev. 2014-03-19
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SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS
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Policy Platform for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders The Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) community is comprised of populations of ancestry originating from Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia who experienced a 35% population increase between 2000 and 2010. There are 1.2 million NHPIs current-ly residing in the United States (U.S.) sharing a diverse set of relationships between the U.S. Government and NHPIs including state-hood, territory, government to government, and Compact of Free Association states.
Policy Platform Blueprint Overview
This policy platform blueprint is offered as a starting point in a process that will express a common set of beliefs, positions, and rec-ommendations that will represent the foundation of a national advocacy effort for NHPIs in the U.S. This is meant to be a living docu-ment that changes and adapts to our community’s needs while reinforcing the principles shared by our respective NHPI cultures.
There are numerous common threads woven through each of the following sections, particularly those of data needs, access, and cul-tural and linguistic competency. A special emphasis is placed upon gaining and providing access to adequate data due the critical role it serves in defining the scale of the challenges we face. Reliable data also represents the best way to define and justify the resources required to assist us in overcoming those challenges through the creation of effective interventions. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the U.S. Census Bureau are pioneering methodologies that utilize sampling frames to capture better da-ta for NHPIs as an alternative to cost-prohibitive oversampling techniques. This method should be utilized by all federal agencies. While this blueprint offers generalized policy recommendations, the three common threads of data needs, access, and cultural and linguistic relevancy feature specific policy recommendations across all of the sections in order to highlight their ever present nature in all NHPI policy and advocacy work.
We recognize the benefits of collaborating at the national level in successes like the passage of the Office of Management and Budget Revised Directive 15 (OMB 15) and the subsequent formation of U.S. Census Bureau Race and Ethnic Advisory Committees, which have brought further disaggregation to the national census. However, the OMB 15 must still be implemented at the federal, state, and local level. This policy platform blueprint will aim to continue moving our communities forward in the same manner.
The following sections represent only a broad snapshot of the issues currently facing NHPIs. We recognize that many of these issues overlap, such as the potential for economic injustices through discriminatory civil rights violations committed by financial institu-tions or the benefits that education policy can bring towards providing more culturally competent health care. We will address these nuances and intersectional issues in a more comprehensive and final policy platform based on this blueprint.
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Data Needs
Develop and implement plan for targeted special population studies, internally or through research grant funding announcements and contracts
Develop methods for capturing representative data when oversampling is not fiscally feasible
Use analytical strategies and techniques, such as pooling data across several years, to develop estimates of educational outcomes
Improve public access to DOE minority data and promotion of external analyses
Data by educational institutions at
various stages or participation in
colleges and universities
Applications and admissions
Retention
Financial aid needs
Graduate admissions
Track quantitative and empirical
qualitative data, including;
Transition-to-college needs
Enrollment in community colleges and selective institutions
Transfers for non-academic reasons
Challenges faced by students
Generational status
Language used at home or school
Parents’ educational background
EDUCATION The rate of educational attainment for NHPIs continue to lag behind that of the general population, helping to perpetuate the cycle of poverty. The challenges faced by NHPIs are mirrored by those seen for other communities with low socio-economic status but this group faces the added burden of having risks masked by the broad “Asian and Pacific Islander” data aggregation and being includ-ed in the “model minority” myth inaccurately ascribed to the diverse Asian American community. Only 18% of NHPIs have obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher,1 compared to 28% for the general population.2 This disparity only increases for graduate and professional degrees, of which only 4.9% of NHPIs have obtained,3 compared to 10.2% of the general population.4 The NHPI communi-ty remains underserved under current national education policy.
Policy Recommendations
1) Department of Education (DOE) draft an action plan to reduce education disparities for NHPIs
2) Increase support for programs that broaden opportunities for NHPI students to enroll in higher education institutions
3) Support national support networks for NHPI college students and parents
4) Promote disaggregated data collection, analysis, and reporting
5) Support standardized cultural competency programs for educational institutions
6) Support comprehensive immigration reform through pursuit of higher education
Recognize NHPIs as an underserved minority group in higher education
Support increased outreach from higher education institutions to NHPI students through AANAPISI and allow individual institutions to carry multiple Minority Serving Institution designations
ACCESS
Require school districts receiving federal funds to collect and report disaggregated data on enrollment, attendance, dropout rate, and college preparatory class enrollment
Include disaggregated data collection and reporting as weighted criteria in competitive grants
DATA
Promote cultural competency of NHPI cultures within school districts where NHPI population clusters reside
Translate key materials, documents, and forms regarding financial aid, student and parental rights into NHPI languages
CULTURE & LANGUAGE
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Data Needs
Develop and implement plan for
targeted special population
studies, internally or through
research grant funding
announcements and contracts
Disaggregate data on incidence
and prevalence of chronic
illnesses and diseases such as:
Obesity
Diabetes
Heart Disease
Cancer
Gout
Asthma
Percentage and amount of federal
grants awarded to NHPI
academics and NHPI issues
Participation and retention rate of
NHPIs in federal health care
programs
Health workforce diversity
Explore access and levels of
coverage for health/medical
HEALTH The NHPI community in the U.S. is often aggregated into the “Asian Pacific Islander” category, which has been historically associated with healthy profiles, obscuring NHPI health issues and making them invisible in reported data. The diverse political relationships between various island nations and groups also create barriers to healthcare since access to many public health programs depend on im-migration status. Among the highest priority health issues that disproportionately affect the NHPI community are obesity, cancer, and diabetes. Approximately 44% of NHPI adults are obese, com-pared to 12% for Asian Americans (AA).5 The rate of death from cancer is also significantly higher for NHPIs than AAs. For example, Samoan and Native Hawaiian women have overall cancer death rates that exceed those of Asians and non-Hispanic White women.6 Many of the barriers faced by the NHPI community in treating health conditions or prevention are the result of factors including high uninsured rates,7 language and cultural barriers,8 and lack of research and data disaggregation inves-tigating health condition causes and solutions.
Policy Recommendations
1) Increase funding for outreach, education, and preventive services
2) Promote culturally and linguistically appropriate services
3) Increase research of NHPI health issues
4) Promote availability of Federally Qualified Health Clinics as a resource for NHPIs
5) Expand National Health Service Corps service areas to better cover where NHPI reside
Support legislation that reduces health care costs and prevents discrimination
Increase awareness of Affordable Care Act provisions and its impact on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander families
ACCESS
Update Minority Underserved Area requirement to include a Limited English Proficiency metric
Foster partnerships with educational/research institutions
DATA
Enforce Section 4302(a)(2)(A) of the Affordable Care Act, directing HHS to implement OMB 15
Require federally funded clinics to comply with OMB 15 at a minimum
Translate key documents including those containing health education and access information and forms
CULTURE & LANGUAGE
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Data Needs
Develop and implement plan for
targeted special population
studies, internally or through
research grant funding
announcements and contracts
Employment rate
Self-employment rate
Access to capital and community
economic development programs
Wealth accumulation
Poverty rate
Salaries (compared to similar
educational levels, work
experience, and geographic
distribution)
Management position (compared
by age, education levels and
nativity status)
Work history
Welfare participation
Assets
Wealth
Financial services
Insurance
ECONOMIC JUSTICE and HOUSING Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders have historically faced significant economic challenges. Those challenges have only been exacerbated by the current economic climate and housing downturn. As a result, NHPIs face fewer prospects for ending the cycle of poverty and achieving home ownership without a sustained effort to address fair employment and increased access to asset building pro-grams. The scale of the economic challenge may be seen when comparing the $19,051 per capita in-come of NHPIs in the United States,9 compared with $27,334 for the total population,10 and a 123% increase in unemployment between 2007 to 2011, higher than any other racial group.11 NHPIs also lag behind Asian Americans and the general public in home ownership rates with only 47% of NHPIs own-ing homes, compared to 57% for Asian Americans and 65% for the total population.12 Addressing these issues will require strengthening social safety nets while increasing opportunities for upward mobility.
Policy Recommendations
1) U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Consumer Financial Protection Bu-reau, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) should develop action plan to ad-dress home ownership and employment disparities.
2) Increase and expand home ownership programs
3) Promote asset building and savings programs
4) Support greater oversight of equal employment opportunity programs
5) Strengthen anti-predatory loan laws and anti-discrimination laws against financial institutions and insurance companies
ACCESS
Increase funding for Assets for
Independence and similar
programs
Require EEOC to make EEO-1 reports publicly available, expand the number of occupational groups to reflect the two-digit occupational census classifications
Require employers to collect and make publicly available additional data on hiring, promotions, and trainings
DATA
Translate vital HUD documents into NHPI languages (including brochures, booklets, fact sheets, forms, posters, PSAs, and any other documents that include information on fair housing, public housing, multi and single-family housing)
CULTURE & LANGUAGE
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Data Needs
Develop and implement plan for
targeted special population
studies, internally or through
research grant funding
announcements and contracts
DOJ and DHS must disaggregate
NHPI data for:
General population
Arrest rate
Held in pretrial detention
Sentencing
Incarceration
Releases on parole
Parole revocations
Census of Jails report
Suspicious Activity Reports
Increase funding for federal
public defenders
ACCESS
All federal agencies should
implement OMB 15 at a
minimum when collecting and
reporting disaggregated data
DATA
Translate vital documents
including court forms and other
educational materials
CULTURE & LANGUAGE
CIVIL RIGHTS Civil rights violations against NHPIs have been poorly documented by the government and in the in-dependent research literature. Sufficient anecdotal evidence exists to justify the allocation of re-sources to conduct a comprehensive review of the adjudication and treatment of NHPIs within the federal criminal justice system. One example includes a Samoan bridal shower mistakenly raided by Los Angeles County Sheriff officers. The attendees were found victims of unjustified use of force and were awarded a $25 million settlement, “the largest civil rights damage award against police in Cali-fornia history.”13 The NHPI community also faces discrimination by those who may not even recog-nize NHPI racial or ethnic origins but mistake Pacific Islanders as belonging to other minorities in-cluding African Americans and Hispanics. The possibility of institutional racism cannot be ignored as a potential explanation for the treatment and lack of services contributing to the disparities affecting the NHPI community. Without rigorous enforcement of OMB 15, which was created in order to detect civil rights violations, discriminatory acts against NHPIs can continue unabated.
Policy Recommendations
1) U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) develop an action plan to address civil rights disparities for NHPIs.
2) Federal Law Enforcement agencies should release all currently existing data on the number of NHPIs currently engaged with the Federal criminal justice system at each stage, from arrest to post-sentencing
3) Support voter access by increasing availability of translated materials and opposing voter sup-pression efforts
4) Support anti-discrimination policies that encourage institutions receiving federal funding in areas with high concentrations of NHPIs to undergo cultural competency trainings
5) Build relationship between federal law enforcement personnel and community based organiza-tions in areas with high NHPI concentrations
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Data Needs
Develop and implement plan for
targeted special population
studies, internally or through
research grant funding
announcements and contracts
DHS and other federal agencies
that serve NHPI immigrants must
disaggregate NHPI data for:
Undocumented immigrants
Held in detention
Persons obtaining legal
permanent residency
Deportees
Health care and economic
security program
participation rates
Workforce
Workplace abuse complaints
Recognize and acknowledge the
extremely diverse relationships
between NHPIs and the U.S.
Expand access to counsel and
due process in deportation
proceedings
ACCESS
Federal agencies charged with
handling immigration matters
should implement OMB 15 at a
minimum when collecting and
reporting disaggregated data
DATA
Translate vital documents
including forms and other
educational materials
Create and enforce
interpretation and translation
assistance standards
CULTURE & LANGUAGE
IMMIGRATION Policymakers must recognize that the Native Hawaiian* and Pacific Islander (NHPI) community en-compasses an extremely diverse and complicated set of relationships with the United States. Those relationships create numerous, distinct barriers to successful integration in the U.S. Approximately 14% of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) are foreign born although that rate varies widely between Pacific Islander groups.14 For example, 65% of Fijians, 35% of Tongans, and 10% of Samoans residing in the U.S. are foreign born.15 The impact of foreign-born status is further compli-cated by the diverse relationships that exist between the U. S. Government and our NHPI community’s homelands. Those relationships include statehood, territories, independent countries, and special relationships with countries such as those under the Compact of Free Association. Available avenues of access to essential services and resources must be communicated more clearly to Pacific Islander immigrants while service providers must be kept apprised of our community’s diverse challenges and needs.
Policy Recommendations
1) Create a clear and simple roadmap to citizenship
2) Ensure access to affordable health care and economic security programs for immigrants
3) Create and enforce standards for interpretation and translation assistance
4) Reduce the backlog of family-based immigration visas
5) Establish full workplace rights and protections for all workers regardless of immigration status
6) Allow academically responsible individuals brought to the U.S. as undocumented youth to apply for citizenship
*Native Hawaiians are indigenous to the United States and not immigrants.
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ENDNOTES
1. U.S. Census Bureau, 2007-2011 American Community Survey, Sex by Educational Attainment for the Population 25 Years and Over (Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone or in combination with one or more other races), Table C15002E.
2. U.S. Census Bureau, 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B15002.
3. 2007-2009 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates.
4. 2007-2009 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates.
5. Schiller JS, Lucas JW, Ward BW, Peregoy JA. Summary health statistics for U.S. adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2010. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 10(252). 2012
6. Miller, B.A., Chu K. C., Hankey, B. D. and Ries, L. A. G. (2008) Cancer incidence and mortality patterns among specific Asian and Pacific Islander populations in the U.S. Cancer Causes & Control 19, 227-256.
7. U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2009 to 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplements. People Without Health Insurance Coverage by Race. http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/data/incpovhlth/2011/tables.html
8. Office of Minority Health. http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/content.aspx?ID=8806&lvl=3&lvlid=573.
9. U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey, Selected Economic Characteristics, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone or in combination with one or more other races, Table DP03.
10. U.S. Census Bureau, 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19301.
11. U.S. Census Bureau, 2005–2007 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, Table S0201; 2009–2011 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, Table S0201.
12. U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census SF2, Table HCT2.
13. Bob Pool, “County Pays Family Injured by Deputies in Cerritos Melee.” Los Angeles Times 30 Sept. 1998. 5 May 2012 <http://articles.latimes.com/1998/sep/30/local/me-27910>.
14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B05003.
15. U.S. Census Bureau, 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B05003.
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We would like to acknowledge the following entities for your
sponsorship and support of our work:
Southwest Airlines
NCAPACD (National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development)
APALC (Asian Pacific American Legal Center)
APAICS (Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies)
NCAPA (National Council of Asian Pacific Americans)
APIAHF (Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum)
AAPCHO (Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations)
APPEAL (Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment Advocacy and Leadership)
AAJC (Asian American Justice Center)
HAP/HND (Hmong National Development, Inc.)
OCA
NAAPIMHA (National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association)
NAPABA (National Asian Pacific American Bar Association)
APIASF (Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund)
LANA (Laotian American National Alliance)
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For more information, please contact:
Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC)
1137 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90017
www.empoweredPI.org
Executive Director, Tana Lepule: [email protected]
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